Bill seeking expansion of mid-day meal scheme withdrawn

New Delhi, May 12 (UNI) A private member bill seeking an amendment in the constitution with insertion of new article 45 A to expand the Mid-Day Meal scheme from once a day to thrice a day along with provision of supplying more nutritious food for the undernourished children in the country was later withdrawn by its mover Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy (CPI) in the Lok Sabha today.

The bill, supported by all sections of the House, was withdrawn as Minister of State for Human Resource Development D Purendeshwar said the Centre was committed to enlarging its ambit to bring more children from the hilly, drought-prone and backward areas under its purview.

It is a scheme where the State Governments are also expected to participate for widening its scope and coverage. In states like Punjab and Haryana they have included milk and fruit to improve the quality as well as for providing nutritious food to children, and similarly, in West Bengal fish has been in its list. And, in the case of Andaman and Nicobar Islands they are spending over Rs 4 per child to provide them nutritious food, she added.

She, however, differed on the question of providing meals thrice a day as that could pose a number of technical and other administrative problems. Apart from this, providing packet food for home might create another problem as there will be a big time gap between the time of preparation and consumption, and requested the member to withdraw the bill.

UNI BKS RL HT1715